/*
 * Copyright (C) 2009 M. Hautle.
 * 
 * This file is part of TrackedBean.
 * 
 * TrackedBean is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free
 * Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
 * 
 * TrackedBean is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR
 * A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
 * 
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with TrackedBean. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
 */
package ch.trackedbean.util;

/**
 * Interface describing an value accessor operating on a given element.
 * 
 * @param <T> The return type
 * @author M. Hautle
 */
public interface IValueAccessor<T> {
	/**
	 * Returns the value form the element.
	 * 
	 * @param element The element
	 * @param fallback The fallback value
	 * @return The value or the fallback
	 */
	T getValue(Object element, T fallback);

	/**
	 * Sets the given value on the specified element.
	 * 
	 * @param element The bean
	 * @param value The value to set
	 * @return True if the value was set
	 */
	boolean setValue(Object element, T value);

	/**
	 * Returns the path represented by this accessor.
	 * 
	 * @return The path
	 */
	String getPath();

	/**
	 * Returns the type of the value to get/set.
	 * 
	 * @return The type or null if unknwon
	 */
	Class<T> getType();
}
